Bracing for the Ad-Blocked Future: How Brands are Moving Beyond the Impression, presented by Crowdtap

Hosted by Crowdtap

wed, February 24, 2016

9:00 AM - 9:50 AM

SVA Theatre (EDU Stage)

Skipping ads. DVR-ing television shows. Installing ad-blockers. These behaviors have all become a common part of the Millennial experience – and what’s more, they are behaviors that are engrained in subsequent generations of consumers (Gen-Z and even Gen-Alpha).

But when did marketing become a game of “consumers vs. advertisers?” In 2016 and beyond, the companies that win will be those that partner with people to create stronger, more meaningful connections. In this session, learn why working alongside your customers to unlock their ideas, opinions and stories can fuel more effective marketing and hear from three brands who are evolving their approach to get ahead of shifting consumer behavior.

Session structure:

The session begins with a brief setup in which Crowdtap CEO Sean Foster lays out the shifts in consumer behavior that will fundamentally change the way marketers reach audiences online.

From there, panelists will candidly discuss the challenges inherent to marketing in an increasingly “ad-blocked” world and share success stories around campaigns that have evolved beyond the impression model to partner with people in creative ways.

At the end of the session there will be time for audience Q&A.

Audience takeaways:

Learn where new opportunities have emerged to connect with people around shifting consumer behaviors such as the proliferation of user-generated content (“creator culture”) and a desire to more directly impact business and marketing decisions at large corporations.

Hear first-hand accounts of winning marketing programs that have invited consumers to help shape and tell a brand’s story, thereby building more emotional connections and driving long-term brand health.

Get tips on how established companies can act like a startup to stay ahead of consumer behavior and achieve relevance among incoming generations of consumers.

Event Location

Event Info

Event Speakers

Afdhel Aziz

Brand Director, ABSOLUT Labs, Pernod-Ricard

Afdhel Aziz

Brand Director, ABSOLUT Labs, Pernod-Ricard

Afdhel Aziz is a brand strategist and marketer who has worked for global brands such as Procter & Gamble, Heineken and Nokia, in London and New York. He is currently Brand Director for Absolut Vodka in the USA.

A visionary strategist, inspiring leader and ultra-creative collaborator, he is an expert on how to deliver cutting-edge campaigns, content and experiences that harness popular culture, working with world-class artists such as Lady Gaga, Swedish House Mafia and Kanye West, as well as diverse partners like the TED Conferences, Art Basel, Coachella Festival, London Fashion Week, US Open Tennis and the Andy Warhol Foundation.

He has been a featured speaker at SXSW, Advertising Week and the Social Commerce Summit, and has been fortunate enough to collaborate with world-class agencies like Sid Lee, Wieden + Kennedy, Mother and Naked, on award-winning work which has been featured in the New York Times, Vice, Fast Company, Coolhunting, Billboard, Hypebeast and more.

He specializes in taking breakthrough ideas from inception to execution: whether it’s the worlds biggest New Year’s Eve party for Nokia with Rihanna, the Black Eyed Peas and John Legend playing simultaneously in Hong Kong, Berlin, Mumbai, New York and Rio; or helping the TED conferences help their ideas spread further with a ‘visionary’ partnership that unleashed the power of the crowd to translate TED talks into over hundreds of the worlds languages.

Along the way, he has executive-produced a documentary series with Vice about the history of design in nightlife; transformed entire city blocks in Brooklyn and San Francisco into contemporary art installations; and taken over the Paris Opera House for a concert with Kelis, Soulwax and Franz Ferdinand that made national news in France.

He has written ‘China Bay Blues’, a book of poetry, and ‘Strange Fruit’, a novel, as well as being founding and editing ‘Serendipity’, a magazine for the global Sri Lankan community.

He is also currently writing ‘Good is the New Cool: How Great Brands should Optimize Life’.

Tracy Echikson

Marketing Consultant, Ricola Brand Team

Tracy Echikson

Marketing Consultant, Ricola Brand Team

With over 20 years of brand management and marketing consulting experience, Ricola Marketing Team Member Tracy Echikson is an experienced marketer and strategist with demonstrated success in marketing planning, innovation road mapping, and general strategy.

Tracy’s experience includes 12+ years in brand management, contributing to the growth of such well-known brands as Ghirardelli Chocolate Squares®, ChapStick®, Robitussin®, and Stayfree Maxi Pads®. While leading these businesses, she received numerous industry and company awards for strategic planning, brand re-positioning, and new product launches. Currently, she is an integral member of the Ricola Marketing Team, leveraging her strong classical marketing skills to accelerate the growth of this successful, premium brand.

Sean Foster

CEO, Crowdtap

Sean Foster

CEO, Crowdtap

Sean joins Crowdtap with a proven track record of building great consumer experiences, developing thriving communities and scaling successful organizations. Most recently, he served as CEO of dLife, where he successfully transitioned the business from a media company to a branded products and services company, ultimately resulting in the sale of the company in late 2013.

Prior to dLife, Sean was responsible for a $120mm consumer e-commerce business as President, Online of Avon Products, Inc.

Previously, Sean served as CMO for The Gilt Groupe where he delivered hyper sales growth and led the development of the flash sales model.

Sean has held numerous executive roles at Weight Watchers International. During his time at Weight Watchers, he was responsible for all US, UK, Canada, Germany and Australia sales and marketing for the online division as the Vice President of Marketing for WeightWatchers.com.

Sean also held several key sales and marketing roles at ndb.com (National Discount Brokers) and Club Med.

Joanne McKinney

Chief Strategy Officer, The Burns Group

Joanne McKinney

Chief Strategy Officer, The Burns Group

Joanne McKinney is Chief Strategy Officer for the Burns Group, an independent, New York City-based branding and advertising company founded in 2008. Joanne joined the Burns Group to reimagine what strategic planning could and should mean in today’s consumer-led marketplace and has built a strategic planning process that begins where most other agencies’ end — blending strategic rigor with creativity to help brands take new leaps.

At the Burns Group, Joanne has invented new tools that bring consumers into a collaborative process on strategy, innovation and commercialization and has led breakthrough thinking and growth for both global and U.S. brands. Joanne has been invited to speak at industry events, showcasing new methods to engage consumers at both an insight and activation level and is a repeat guest-lecturer on driving behavior change at The Harvard School of Public Health.

Outside of work, Joanne leads the not-for-profit organization, Through The Eyes of Children: The Rwanda Project (www.rwandaproject.org), an Internationally exhibited photographic project with orphans of the Rwandan Genocide. Joanne serves on the Advisory Council for Entrepreneurship at Cornell University, her alma mater, and on the board of the International School of Brussels Foundation and Perception International.